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On February 5th, 2017, the New England Patriots won the 51st Super Bowl. It was a close game by the end of the 4th quarter as the Patriots were coming back from a rough 1st half. By the end of the 4th quarter, the Patriots and Falcons were tied up in the end, leading to the first overtime game ever in Super Bowl history. Both teams were tied 28-28 when they went into overtime and the stake were higher than ever. In less than 4 minutes, James White dived into the end zone for the final 6 points. TOUCHDOWN!!!

It was one of the most amazing comebacks in Super Bowl history. The Patriots were down by 28 points, only to rake in the last 6 points while they were in overtime. Even when they were down and out, the Patriots pushed harder than ever to grab their 5th Super Bowl win.

So how did New England celebrate their triumphant victory on Sunday? By holding a parade, of course! Mayor Marty Walsh announced that the Patriots Parade would take place in Boston on February 7th, just mere hours after their victory. Since I was free on Tuesday, I had the golden opportunity to become a part of an incredible and victorious celebration.

The streets of Boston ran red, white and blue as the Patriot fanatics entered the city. Hundreds of people cut school (and work!) to become a part of the celebration here in Boston. Even the snowy, cold weather wasn’t going to stop New Englanders from attending the parade!

Their route started at Boylston street and would end at City Hall Plaza. The parade itself would begin at 11:00, but the floats didn’t actually start moving until 45 minutes later. Regardless of the late start, fans cheered on the Pats as they were heading their way.

With my body shivering out in the cold, I stood within the barriers in City Hall Plaza with my friend Andrew to witness the amazing celebration (shout-out to my friend Andrew Carr for attending this awesome event with me!). Colorful confetti shot from cannons, scattering around the streets as fans cheered on for their favorite football team. Even though the weather was crappy, the overall atmosphere brightened up with positivity around the city. Patriot fans from all walks of life were here to celebrate their 5th Super Bowl win.

All of the hard-working Patriot players and staff danced around their floats as they passed through different areas of Boston. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Jimmy Garoppolo, LeGarrette Blount, Stephen Gostkowski, and other players celebrated their 5th world Championship (Bill Belichick even got in on the party as well!). Our hard-working players deserved to party, especially after that incredible comeback near the end of the 4th quarter!

This was such an incredible event to be a part of! Thousands of fans cheered every minute as their favorite players partied down the streets of Boston. I have seen more positive vibes around Boston today than I ever have this past month. So many people cheered and high-fived me as I wandered around City Hall Plaza. Even those that were working near the parade got in on the fun as well!

With all of the commotion happening around the streets, I realized that it was so much more than about the Patriots winning their Super Bowl. Seeing Patriot fans come together on a cold and snowy day really showed what Boston is all about. Boston is a city that embraces the underdogs, cheering on those that work harder than ever to get to where they are now. This is a city where people work diligently to prove how worthy they are to society.

If we find something that doesn’t fit right with our city culture, then we work our asses off to fix the situation! Boston is actually one of the most liberally-progressive cities in the United States. With Massachusetts being the first state to legalize gay marriage in 2004, it’s no wonder that Boston is one of the most liberal cities in New England. And with that note, I have to point out again that cannabis was made legal in Massachusetts BEFORE California during the elections!

Even when facing such uncertainty and anxiety in the world, Bostonians don’t back down from a challenge. Just like the Patriots winning the 51st Super Bowl, Bostonians fight each day to solve their personal dilemmas from all aspects of life. It’s times like this where we realize that we can overcome any obstacles that stand in our way. Nothing will ever get in the way of our personal ambitions that we strive for in this city.

And with that, I must give a special thanks to the New England Patriots: thank you Patriots for showing the world what Boston is all about. A special thanks to all Patriot players for playing as hard as they could to clinch their 5th Super Bowl win in the nation. I have to also thank Tom Brady, the true GOAT that helped lead an incredible team to another Super Bowl victory. Thank you for claiming another win, helping us walk even taller in this complex world.

One of America’s popular sport during the fall/winter season is Football. Families and friends gather around on Sunday night to watch their favorite team try to win. Fantasy football fanatics are glued to their TV and laptop in the hopes of scoring more points in their league. It’s one of America’s greatest pastimes when baseball season ends in October.

Football games used to air only on Sundays, but popular demands for the sport extended televised games for a few extra games. Monday Night Football started in September 21, 1970 and became one of the highest-rated prime time programs, particularly among male viewers. These Monday night games featured celebrity guests to “liven up” the games when it was starting. NFL games have been airing on Thursdays for a decade now, but they could soon become a thing of the past.

The National Football League is considering ending, or at least limiting, Thursday Night Football. Their current contract with CBS and NBC runs through 2017, so certain changes to the negotiations could start in 2018. Audiences have been tuning off from these Thursday night games because the two teams don’t have their A-game (literally!). With both teams not giving it 100%, this leads to poor plays throughout the game and people will starting tuning out.

What’s interesting is that Thursday games weren’t a part of the NFL season until the post season race in November 2012 (when Obama was reelected for his 2nd term as president). The first game that aired on Thursday was Thanksgiving night in 2005. Thursday night games slowly became popular in 2012 and it started to take a serious toll on its players.

Seattle Seahawks corner-back Richard Sherman joined a number of NFL players who speaking out against Thursday Night Football. He calls out the NFL for their hypocrisy about preaching player safety, yet sending their players into games with only four days of rest. Sherman also tossed the complaint about playing on Thanksgiving night and having to miss a home-cooked meal with his family. Former Houston Texans running back Adrian Foster accused the NFL of “putting every player on the football field in danger” when it came to Thursday games.

Viewership ratings have been decreasing during the 2016-2017 season, causing the NFL to look at what isn’t working with its viewers. The NFL is faced with various options: one of those is to eradicate Thursday Night Football completely. Another option would be to start Thursday games at Thanksgiving and going until the season ends in January. Decisions will need to be made in order to protect both the players health and approval rating from their audiences.

To better understand the major tolls Thursday night games take, let’s look at a typical scenario involving one NFL player. We’ll go with Rob Gronkowski as our example (because of his awesome social media involvement!). It’s Sunday and the Patriots play against Oakland Raiders. The Patriots win 22-14 and their next game is on Thursday night against the Miami Dolphins. After the game, Rob Gronkowski has exactly 4 days until his next game on Thursday. This means that Rob would have about 96 hours to rest, eat, train, hydrate, and practice to get himself prepared for his next game. Gronk may be a young spring chicken, but all those tackles will take a serious toll on both his physical/mental health.

So we seem to have an interesting marketing problem here. We are seeing more football games than the past decades, yet the audiences are tuning out due to their sluggish performance. Keep in mind that sports is a part of ENTERTAINMENT and the players PERFORM this sport every week in front of a live audience. The ironic thing is that audiences are complaining that football isn’t what it used to be. Other problems audiences see in football are harder tackles, more rules that dubbed the NFL the ‘no-fun-league’, players taking knees during the National Anthem, mediocre half-time shows, and more time broadcasting the game. It seems as though the NFL is spurring up this razzle-dazzle concept to fluff up their programs, but the audience isn’t buying it at all.

Thursday Night Football is just flaming the fire of a branding nightmare the NFL has been facing the past few years. This and the increase of Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (more on this exclusive subject later!) has caused serious issues among the NFL, it’s players, and their audiences. What should the verdict be for Thursday Night Football? Could we really do without football on Thursday?

Who knows what the future will hold for the NFL. With more players suffering life-threatening injuries in football, the NFL really needs to think about the future of American Football the next 5-10 years. If nothing gets sorted out, then football will become extinct in the near future. This isn’t just about football games on Thursday nights; it’s about the teetering future of one of America’s greatest weekend pastimes. Football helped shape America to what it is today and our country’s most important values could soon be punted off the field.

It seems as though Rob Gronkowski’s PR stunts can be heard of everywhere – a party bus, a book, his own flavor of Monster Energy, a photo shoot with cute kittens, and even singing tunes with David Ortiz about Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee. As one of the most favorable players of the NFL, Gronkowski continues to extend the story of his personal brand. Earlier he released his Instagram account to connect with millions of his followers on social media. His next brand story involves a different kind of sport – Kanjam.

That’s right folks! Rob Gronkowski released his own version of the popular partying game called Kanjam Gronk. Gronkowski released a Kanjam Gronk game set on the website kamjamgronk.com. The kanjam Gronk game set features 2 official goals, 2 custom designed Kanjam flying discs, a commemorative Gronk locker nameplate, and instructions for how to play the game.

Kanjam is one of the most popular partying games among college kids in the United States. The object is to score points by throwing your flying disc and hitting or entering into the goal. Your opponents will try to deflect the disc from entering the goal. Players must get exactly 21 points in order to win the game. Any throw that takes a team over 21 points would be subtracted from their score.

As mentioned earlier, this is just one of many ways Gronkowski’s brand continues to flourish. He connects with his fans any way possible and now he dipped his toes into one of the most popular party games in America. Rob Gronkowski is more than just an incredible football player; his ‘box of rocks’ personality makes him one of the most relatable athletes of the NFL. Whatever stunts he pulls during his off-season schedule, he is sure to reel in another niche audience that will love Gronkowski even more.

Rob Gronkowski continues to be my favorite athlete of the New England Patriots. Other than being one of the best tight ends of the NFL, his silly antics makes him more than just another great athlete. While I don’t watch football as much as the next guy, it is always hilarious to watch what Gronkowski does off of the football field. I am always eager to see what humorous PR stunt Rob Gronkowski will be involved with in the future. Props to Gronk for branching out his brand into another product line! If Kanjam was his latest product launch, who knows what’s in store for us Patriots fans? We’ll just have to sit and wait for the next chapter of Rob Gronkowski’s life.

If you’re a Patriots fan, you know that Rob Gronkowski is one of the most well-known players of the team. He’s one of the best tight end players with a flourishing brand name. Some of his infamous PR stunts include endorsing Dunkin’ Donuts, creating a brand of frosted corn flakes named Gronk Flakes, and even posing for the camera with cuddly kittens. Gronk fans can be excited for his newest social media venture: Instagram.

Gronkowski officially joined the Instagram bandwagon earlier this week and he doesn’t disappoint! His first 1-minute video showcases his life during the off-season months. The video includes clips of him working out at the gym, completing swimming exercises by the pool, getting a haircut, and even partying with his pals at the bar.

Rob Gronkowski was drafted into the New England Patriots in 2010. He set the single-season record for most touchdowns by a tight end in the next year.

Other than Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski is one of the most entertaining players to follow. His last entertaining stunt featured him and David Ortiz sing a country song about Dunkin’ Donuts Ice Coffee. Gronkowski isn’t shy when it comes to making cameos for TV and films. He appeared with wide-receiver Julian Edelman for the Entourage movie in June 3rd, 2015. Besides his random cameos on the screen, Rob Gronkowski posed in a photo shoot with cuddly kittens back in December 2014.

It’s important to note that he isn’t just doing these appearances for a salary. Gronkowski is a charitable player who co-created the Gronk Nation Youth Foundation, a charity he and his family created to host events and create concepts to generate funds for benefitting youth charities. His next event will be The One Mission Buzz Off for Kids With Cancer where he will shave his head at Gillette Stadium to honor kids with cancer. All proceeds will be donated toward kids fighting cancer.

With all of his entertaining campaigns, Rob Gronkowski would be considered social media gold in the public relations world. Gronkowski’s brand as a Patriots player is constantly flourishing with each creative campaign he is endorsed in. His ‘box of rocks’ personality makes him the most likable and positive person for the Patriots.